The present invention relates to chewing gum, and more particularly to a gum ingredient which has been found to reduce bitterness and harshness in strongly mint-flavored chewing gums.
Gums that contain high levels of mint-flavor (high ratios of flavor to base) achieve high flavor impact upon chewing. While this high flavor impact is desired by many consumers, the high flavor level may result in undesirable flavor characteristics later in the chew. These may include bitterness (a true taste) or unpleasant trigeminal effects often described as harshness, sharpness, burning or bite. For simplicity, these trigeminal effects will be referred to as "harshness," keeping in mind that perceptions and descripters will vary from person to person, and that several slightly different phenomenon may be included within this term. These undesirable sensations effectively limit the level of mint-flavor that may be used in a chewing gum product which, in turn, limits the initial flavor impact.
It would be of benefit to be able to use high levels of mint-flavor, or high flavor/base ratios, in gum without the bitterness, harshness, sharpness, burning or bite generally accompanying such high flavor usage levels.